


Is That My Shirt?

by ElderofAvonlea



Category: Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery, Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, anne is doing the most, to get this boy to kiss her
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-10-20 14:11:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20676701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElderofAvonlea/pseuds/ElderofAvonlea
Summary: "Is that my shirt?"When Anne and Gilbert get caught in a thunderstorm on their way back from the library, they decide to wait out the storm in Gilbert's apartment. Anne "borrows" a t-shirt and tension ensues.Aged up characters in a modern college setting.





	Is That My Shirt?

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, thank you for clicking! 
> 
> I wrote this whole fic in a fever on my phone while I lay in bed freaking out about the upcoming season of Anne two nights ago. 
> 
> One day, and a (very) rough edit later, I present to you this mess of a fic. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

“No way!”

Anne laughed into the back of her hand; her grey eyes wide as she gaped at Gilbert in disbelief.

“I swear it happened just like that!”

Anne shook her head incredulously.

“Against my better judgment, I believe you.”

Gilbert feigned offense, fingers splaying against his chest, dark brows pitching up in surprise.

“You wound me, Shirley,” he quipped, his look of mock indignation giving way to a playful scowl.

Anne scrunched her nose at him, the freckles sprinkled there disappearing into the wrinkles of her skin. Another giggle slipped between her smiling lips as the pair shook the last bits of disbelief from their minds.

A sudden grumble of thunder drew both hazel and grey eyes to the sky above. Charcoal clouds coalesced overhead, churning ominously. Another groan of thunder rolled through the humid air, sounding closer now. Wind, thick with the sweet smell of approaching rain, whipped Anne’s hair about her cheeks, strands of it catching in her mouth.

“We should probably hurry,” she said, pulling the red strands from her lips with a brush of her fingers.

Gilbert nodded in agreement. With one last glance at the gathering storm overhead, he ducked his head, catching up with Anne’s quick steps in a few long strides.

Midterm season at Redmond was quickly approaching. As a result, the two had spent the better part of the afternoon tucked away in the library, unaware of the worsening weather outside as they flipped through pages of notes and quizzed each other with flash cards.

Gilbert lived in a small apartment building on Maynard Street, a handful of blocks from the main quad of lush grass they were hurrying across now. Anne shared a townhouse with Diana a few blocks farther still, the small whitewashed building nestled among the trees on Magnolia Avenue. Gilbert was in the habit of walking Anne all the way to the heavy evergreen front door, the three-block journey between their respective homes often accompanied by her insistence on not needing his escort.

Teeth nipping at the inside of his cheek, Gilbert wondered now if there would be enough time for him to see her all the way to Magnolia and still get home before the rain began.

He didn’t have to wonder much longer as the dark sky opened up above them only moments later, the cold rain rushing down in sheets.

Anne squealed as the first splashes fell against her skin, her fiery hair turning to burnt auburn. Hiking her book bag up over her head, she shrieked with pleasure as she broke out into a run down the sidewalk. Gilbert followed close behind, the toes of his sneakers barely missing her heels as his fingers curled against the straps of his bag. Waves of water rushed across their path, the rain soaking through the thin fabric of his shoes and into his socks.

His footsteps squished as he chased after her, trails of water streaming in rivers down his face as the familiar awning of his apartment building came into view.

Breathless, they took shelter from the deluge under the small canopy. Rain poured in thin ribbons over the edge, a streaming curtain to the storm around them. Protected from further soaking through, Gilbert wiped the water from his eyes, blinking away the drops of rain that clung to his lashes and obscured his vision.

Beside him, Anne was grinning madly.

Gilbert quirked an eyebrow at her, his fingers twisting in the sodden fabric of his t-shirt, a stream of water splattering against the concrete at his feet.

“What?” she asked, her eyes sparkling. “I love the rain.”

Gilbert chuckled, having no clever retort, and shook his head. Only Anne could find the romance in being soaked through to the bone.

He was not nearly as enthralled with the deluge they had just sprinted through. Water plastered his shirt to his back. His jeans pulled against his belt, the denim threads sagging with the weight of the rain. Water squished between his toes; the soft cotton of his socks mushy under his feet.

He had to get out of these clothes.

Gilbert stole another glance at Anne, finding the redhead preoccupied with ringing her long hair out onto the sidewalk. Another glance back at the sky told him that the storm wouldn’t be letting up anytime soon, charcoal filling the sky in every direction he could see.

“Do you wanna come upstairs and wait out the storm? Dry off?” he asked.

Anne nodded emphatically.

“I’m freezing,” she admitted, her teeth trembling together.

* * *

“Here we are,” Gilbert said a few minutes later, his apartment door swinging open.

He gestured for Anne to go in first, his arms extending with dramatic chivalry. She shot him an amused glance before stepping over the threshold, Gilbert close behind.

Abandoning her water laden shoes just inside the door, she padded further into the apartment, the outline of her wet feet leaving the ghost of footprints on the hardwood.

“I’ll get us some towels,” Gilbert said behind her, his sodden bag landing heavily on the floor beside their shoes.

Anne nodded; her thin arms hugging her shivering frame.

Gilbert stepped into the bathroom, grabbing two clean towels from the closet, pausing briefly to run one over his hair, scrambling his curls.

“Here you g-” Gilbert’s words died against his lips as he reentered the main room only to find it devoid of a certain sodden redhead. He frowned, confusion pinching his brows together.

His apartment was small, comprised of only three rooms: the bathroom, where he had just been, the main living room and kitchen area, where he had left her, and his bedroom. Quickly narrowing the possibilities, he padded towards his bedroom.

The door standing slightly ajar, Gilbert pushed it open further with his free hand.

He froze in the doorway, bare feet glued to the floor, as his heart hurtled through it.

Across from where he stood, Anne was pulling an old t-shirt over her head, the second drawer of his dresser pulled out behind her, revealing stacks of neatly folded tops. Gilbert swallowed roughly as his eyes raked over the exposed cream of her stomach, an edge of black lace against her chest disappearing from view as she settled the thin fabric over her shoulders.

Her grey eyes flicked up to him as she noticed him lingering in the doorway.

A blush flamed up Gilbert’s neck, his eyes dropping to the floorboards.

“Here’s a towel,” he said, peeking back up at her, arm extended to offer her the towel in his hand. Closing the distance between them, she took it gratefully and began dabbing at her damp hair. Dark spots had already begun to blossom at the ends of her sodden curls. One bloom crept toward the edge of the faded _Avonlea High_ text scrawled across the grey heather fabric.

Despite the pounding in his chest, he couldn’t resist the urge to tease her.

“Is that my shirt?” he asked, a brow arching and a lopsided smirk turning up the corner of his mouth.

Anne sunk a tooth into her bottom lip as a smile threatened to break across her cheeks. Her stormy eyes glinted mischievously, feigned distress at being caught flickering through them.

“It might be,” she quipped, continuing to scrunch the towel against her damp hair.

Anne often had the effect of making him feel that the wind was taken right from his lungs, as if she had simply reached inside of him and plucked the air away between her delicate fingers. And she would hold him, entranced, in those bottomless grey eyes until she turned away and let him fall back down to earth, air crashing back into his lungs as he hit the ground. Battered and bruised, he lay at her feet, feeling higher than he ever dreamt was possible.

They were there again now, her holding him with those eyes and making the blood in his veins run hot and strong. As if in slow motion, he mirrored her motions, patting himself down absently with his own towel and leaving goosebumps along his skin.

He felt his heart lurch even before she dropped him, tearing her gaze away to bend down and run the towel along her legs.

He dragged air into his lungs, balling his shaking fingers into the towel in his hands. His nerves stood on end, his jeans feeling suddenly too tight, the damp denim heavy and cold against his skin.

“Um, I think I’m gonna go change real quick. Do you… do you want a pair of gym shorts or something...” The offer stuck in his throat as he gestured towards her.

Anne looked down at her jean shorts, considering the soaked material. Thin ribbons of water trailed down her thighs.

“Yeah actually, that would be nice.” She smiled, a blush pinking her cheeks.

Gilbert gave her a small nod before disappearing into the closet adjacent to his room. The old hinges on the door squealed as he pulled the door shut after him and flicked the light on.

Stripping off his wet clothes, he called out to Anne.

“So, do you wanna study more or…?”

An audible groan from the bedroom slipped under the door. Gilbert chuckled as he pulled a sweater over his head, the soft wool catching on the tip of his nose.

“Can’t we just watch TV or something? I’m tired of studying,” she called back to him.

“Sure, whatever you want,” he drawled through the door.

Rewarded with a small laugh from the other room, he smiled to himself as his heart skipped in his chest.

Now cloaked in the warmth of a dry t-shirt and gym shorts, Gilbert grabbed an extra pair of shorts before stepping back into his bedroom.

Anne’s shorts lay at her feet, crumpled in a soaking pile atop her discarded shirt. Her thin fingers twisted in the bottom hem of his t-shirt; a hint of black lace visible against her thighs.

She watched him, her grey eyes searching his, wide and exposed.

Then his name fell from her lips, slipping out with a withheld breath, almost helpless with need.

“_Gil_.”

Her voice breaking over his name, he lurched towards her without a second thought. One hand tangled in her wet hair, the other curling in the fabric at the small of her back, his lips found hers. Fingers twisting in the fabric of his sweater, she pulled him closer, her kisses at once deep and desperate. Gilbert basked in the feel of her in his hands, her sweet apple blossom scent mingling with the crisp smell of his detergent.

His heart thudding in his chest, Gilbert hardly dared to breathe as her soft tongue glided against his own, carrying him higher than he had ever been before. This room, the rain falling outside, the wind howling past the windowpanes, the world wasn’t real. Only she was, this girl curled against him.

All too soon, Anne pulled away, falling down from where she had risen onto her toes to meet him. The tip of his nose trailed against her forehead as he held her to him, unwilling to let go.

Anne blew out a shaking breath, the hot air tickling his neck. He smiled into her hairline, planting a soft kiss there.

“So, what did you want to watch?” he whispered into the auburn strands.

He felt her giggle tremble over her as she buried her face in his chest.


End file.
